The invention relates to a plaque remover which can remove plaque, dirt adhered to teeth and dirt adhered to a denture with ease and reliability.
Since plaque and dirt on teeth cause gingivitis, periodontitis, dental caries and unpleasant halitosis, their removal is significant to keep a mouth clean.
Conventionally, a toothbrush and toothpaste are used daily to remove plaque and dirt from teeth, and they are being improved. But, the toothbrush does not provide a satisfactory cleaning effect to interproximal spaces and tooth-to-gingiva spaces to which the toothbrush is hard to reach.
Generally, plaque, dirt adhered to teeth or dirt adhered to dentures was removed with a toothbrush and toothpaste. But, such a method could not remove plaque thoroughly and required a skilled brushing technique and a long time to remove 70 to 80% of plaque. And, its cleaning efficiency is particularly poor in relation to interproximal spaces and tooth-to-gingiva spaces. Plaque in a periodontal pocket could not be removed with the toothbrush at all, and such plaque could be removed by a dentist only.
Accordingly, there is a device called Water Pik (trade name) developed to remove dirt from teeth by injecting water under pressure. But, a conventional injection method for injecting water only without containing abrasive particles cannot remove plaque thoroughly.
And, there is also a method to inject sodium bicarbonate powder as an abradant together with water and compressed air to remove plaque and dirt from teeth (e.g., AIR-FLOW being sold by SHOFU INC.), and this method is highly effective to remove plaque without damaging gingiva so much as causing any trouble (See cited references "Clinical evaluation of the Prophy-Jet as an instrument for routine removal of tooth stain and plaque. J. Periodontol., 55: 486-488, 1984" by Weaks, L. M., Lescher, N. B., Barnes, C. M. and Holroyd, S. V. and "A clinical comparison of the effect on the gingiva of the Prophy-Jet and the rubber cup and paste techniques. J. Periodontol., 57: 151-154, 1986." by Mishkin, D. J., Engler, W. O., Javed, T., Darby, T. D., Cobb, R. L. and Coffman, M. A.). But, the use of sodium bicarbonate had a disadvantage of damaging good tooth enamel, dentin, and a filler such as a cement and a composite resin (See cited references "The effect of an air-powder abrasive system on in vitro root surfaces. J. Periodontol., 55: 13-18, 1984." by Atkinson, D. R., Cobb, C. M. and Killoy, W. J. and "Rate of the root structure by the use of the Prophy-Jet device. J. Periodontol., 58 : 464-469, 1987." by Galloway, S. E., and Pashley, D. H.). Besides, sodium bicarbonate itself has an unpleasant taste and therefore it is not suitable for use.
Furthermore, such a method had a drawback to grind good tooth enamel and dentin.
Plaque and dirt adhered to a denture is removed mainly with a denture toothbrush, and a foamable cleaning chemical and water are supplementarily injected, but a satisfactory cleaning effect is not expected.
The above-described cleaning with a toothbrush cannot remove plaque thoroughly, and dirt survives in interproximal spaces, tooth-to-gingiva spaces and a recessed portion on a denture without being removed. And, the plaque deposited in such portions causes dental caries, periodontal disease and an odor from dentures.
And, the removal of plaque requires a skilled technique, and it is a troublesome work taking a long time. Especially, it was very difficult for people having a handicapped hand, aged and undergoing orthodontic treatment (since brackets are adhered to teeth and wire is also fixed, plaque is easy to deposit, and cleaning with a toothbrush is difficult).